Design strategy for the AI era.
I help organisations work out what their design capability should look like once AI handles much of the production, and shift their teams towards strategic, judgement-led work.
Why now
AI is collapsing the production layer of design. Work that once needed a team of designers and developers can now be done by a few people with the right tools. That's exciting, but it isn't comfortable. The teams most at risk are the ones whose organisations have only ever seen design as production.
Who I work with
Chief product officers, transformation directors, senior design leaders and founders. These are the people deciding what a design function should be, rather than the people doing the work inside it. Usually you're somewhere between "we know this matters" and "we're not sure what to change first".
In my experience, most 'design' problems are actually about strategy, organisation or capability. AI just makes that harder to ignore.
How I can help
- 01
Advisory - AI-era design strategy
An independent view of where your design capability stands and where it needs to go. It covers what to keep, what to hand to AI, what to build and how to bring your team with you. Most engagements start with a capability review.
- 02
Coaching for design leaders
For heads of design and design directors leading a function through the shift. That means making the case at the top table, reshaping roles and keeping good people while the ground moves under them.
- 03
Fractional design leadership
Occasionally I step in as a part-time head of design for a defined period. This mostly comes through introductions, so if it's what you need, the best thing is to get in touch.
Why me
I've worked in design for over 25 years, from the early web in London to co-founding Thirst Studios, one of Australia's first UX agencies, which we ran as a certified B Corp for a decade. I went on to build the Experience Design practice at Origin Energy from scratch, and I now lead a large design chapter at one of Australia's largest telecommunications companies.
I also build my own products with AI. I designed and built Billvox, a WhatsApp tool that turns voice notes into invoices and quotes, on my own with Claude, which is something that would have needed a small team not long ago. So I see the shift from both sides: what it asks of leaders, and what it actually feels like at the keyboard.
Selected work
Built and scaled the practice and lifted digital engagement from 14.2% to 31.6%, delivering what became Australia's highest-rated energy app.
What building end to end with Claude taught me about where design value now sits.
Shaped the product strategy and experience vision as one of Australia's largest telecommunications companies moved into energy retail.
Recent writing
Most large organisations have a CX strategy, but delivery teams can't always see it. Design leadership has a role in closing that gap, through translation.
The pendulum is swinging hard towards AI-powered execution. But if you study the patterns, we might just be heading for a design thinking renaissance.
AI browsers could represent a fairly significant shift in how we approach UX and digital design.
A good place to start
I think every design function will look quite different in a few years. The ones that come through well will probably be those that decided early what they wanted to be, rather than waiting to find out.
A capability review is a short, focused look at your design function: where it adds value today, where AI is already changing the picture, and what to do next. If you'd rather just talk it through first, that's fine too.